Combined telephone and control switch for sterilizer lamp



0d. 17, 1987 P. M. BRAND 3,348,,OO6

COMBINED TELEPHONE AND CONTROL SWITCH FOR STERILIZER LAMP Original Filed Dec. 25, 1964 Inventor E M Bmmd United States Patent 3,348,006 COMBINED TELEPHDNE AND CONTROL SWITCH FUR STERILIZER LAMP Paul M. Brand, Fort Lauderdale, Fla, assignor to Dryster Corporation, Boca Raton, Fla, a corporation f Florida Continuation of application Ser. No. 420,497, Dec. 23, 1964. This application Aug.3, 1966, Ser. No. 570,086

1 Claim. (Cl. HBO-85) This application is a continuation of my application Ser. No. 420,497, filed Dec. 23, 1964, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to a switch mechanism and more particularly to a switch mechanism operated by a predetermined amount of force such as the weight of an object.

The present invention is directed to a novel weight differentiating switch-capable of utility in a number of diflerent environments wherein it is desired to ascertain the application or removal of a predetermined weight or force. An object of the invention is a new and improved switch mechanism of the weight differentiating type which is low in cost, ruggedly constructed for operating for a large number of cycles and sensitive to relatively small differences in forces or weight. Another object of the invention is a new and improved force differentiating switch mechanism which operates in response to a predetermined force and which is inoperative for lesser forces or weights applied thereto.

A further object of the invention is a weight differentiating switch mechanism having the capability of being easily adjusted and finely adjusted to a predetermined weight or force acting on the switch mechanism.

For the purposes of illustration, the weight sensing switch mechanism of the present invention is shown in conjunction with a telephone set wherein the weight differentiating switch is operable upon the removal of the receiver or hand set to cause operation of a timer circuit for sterilizing lamps for sterilizing the ear and mouth pieces of the hand set. Such a switch is also sensitive to the replacing of the hand set to complete the energizing circuits of the germicidal lamps and the sterilizing device to cause sterilization of the mouth piece and ear piece of the hand set.

A more specific object of the present invention is a weight sensitive switch having a platform for supporting an object such as a telephone, the platform being pivotal in one direction in response to a difference in weight of the object and pivotal in the opposite direction in response to return of the object weight on the platform.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claim and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, shows preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what is now considered to be the best mode contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claim.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a telephone set and sterilizer device incorporating the invention;

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FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2 showing the weight sensitive switch according to the preferred embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3 showing the actuator and switch contacts of the weight sensitive switch mechanism;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a contact assembly.

The weight differentiating switch mechanism 10, FIG. 3, includes a weighing platform 11 having an upper plate 12 pivotally mounted on a lower plate 13. The upper plate 12 is adapted to receive the article whose weight is being sensed, such as the weight of a telephone set 15 including the cradled hand set 16. The upper plate 12 has an actuator plunger 17 secured to the under-surface thereof for actuating a contact assembly 18.

It is to be understood that the telephone set 15 is exemplary of a typical environment and of a typical object, the weight which can be detected by the switch mechanism 10 of the present invention. The illustrated environment for the weight differentiating switch 10 also includes a sterilizing apparatus 20 including a housing 21 within which are disposed germicidal lamps as 22 for sterilizing the mouth and ear pieces of the hand set 16.

In this environment, the weight sensitive switch mechanism 10 is adapted to sense the removal and replacement of the hand set 16 to cause operation of a timer mechanism for the sterilizing lamps 22. In this embodiment of the invention the bottom plate 13 of the switch mechanism 10 is supported within the housing 21 at the rear thereof, as best seen in FIG. 2. The rear feet 24 of the telephone set 15 are disposed on the upper surface of the upper plate 12 adjacent an upstanding flange 23 at the rear of the plate 12. The rear feet 24 exert a force on the plate 12 equal to a portion of the weight of telephone set 15. As will be readily appreciated, the hand set 16 is relatively light with respect to the base 25 of the telephone set. Thus, the weight sensitive switch must be capable of differentiating between the relatively small difference in weight of the telephone set as a whole and with hand set 16 removed. Also, because it may be undesirable to flash the lamps 22 when the hand set 16 is removed, the weight differentiating switch 10 should remain unoperated due to the light dialing pressures asserted on the dial of the telephone 16. A problem with prior art weight sensitive switches is that dialing pressure causes oscillation or operation of a movabe plate as 12 which would be effective to operate a contact assembly 18.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the plate 12 is a relatively flat plate having downwardly turned pivot lugs or ears 30 at the ends thereof to receive a pivot rod 32 extending across the rear of the plate 12 and disposed in apertures in upstanding ears 33 formed at the outer end portions of the bottom plate 13. The pivot rod 32 and ears 30 and 33 constitute an inexpensive and nonbinding hinge for permitting the upper plate 12 to pivot relative to the lower plate 13. As will be readily appreciated, the pivot rod 32 serves as a fulcrum which may afford a relatively long lever arm as determined by the point of force application to the plate 12.

The upper plate 12 is biased upwardly about the pivot rod 32 to a predetermined position by a return spring 19. The spring 19 has its upper coils disposed about a guide pin 35 secured to a nut 37 swaged to the bottom surface of the plate 12. The top coil of the spring 19 is disposed in engagement with the bottom surface of the nut 37 and the lower most coil of the spring 19 is in engagement with the top surface of a plug 42 threaded in a cylindrical spring housing 40. The rotatable plug 42 has a lower guide pin 39 threaded thereto or force fitted therein disposed within the coils of the compression spring 19. Preferably, ten thousandths of an inch clearance is provided between the outer diameter of the pins 35 and 39 and the inner diameter of the coils of the spring 19. This clearance permits the coils of spring 19 to move freely relative to the surfaces of the guide pins '35 and 39 while being guided and centered on the guide pins 35 and 39. That is, the guide pins, 35 to 39, retain the spring 19 in a centered position while permitting the coils of the spring 19 about the guide pins 35 and 39 to contract and to expand with the middle portion of the spring 19. p

The spring 19 is preferably a compression spring and of a selected spring rate so as to give a predetermined or nominal amount of upward force to the plate 12 to control the position of the contact Operating plunger 17 and the position of the contacts 18. More specifically, the spring force is such that the contacts 18 will be in one position when the hand set 16 is on the base 25 and in the opposite position when the hand set 16 is removed. The slight amount of movement necessary to open and close the contacts 18 is readily adjustable by turning the plug 42 within the threaded portion 43 of the spring housing 44 to compress the spring 19 or to permit its coils to expand. Thus, it is possible to adjust the position of the upper plate 12 relative to the lower plate 13 and to adjust the amount of force afforded by the spring 19 to cause an operation of the contact assembly 18. The compression spring 19 is selected so as to give a predetermined or nominal amount of upward force to the plate 12 to control operation of the contacts 18 when predetermined weight is removed from the upper plate 12. However, because of tolerances in the various mechanisms and slight differences in weight, it is preferred practice to afford the capability to adjust the spring compression. To this end, a rotatable plug 42 is adapted to be turned against the lower end of the spring 19 within an interiorally threaded portion 43 of the lower part of the spring housing 40. Preferably, the plug 42 has a socket or slot 44 formed in the bottom thereof for receiving a suitable tool whereby the plug 42 can be rotated within the housing 40 either to compress the spring 19 or conversely to permit the spring 19 to expand to its fullest extent. Thus, the plug 42 constitutes a relatively fine adjustment for controlling the amount of spring pressure urging the plate 12 upwardly and for determining the amount of weight or force necessary to be disposed on the plate 12 to cause the plate 12 to swing downwardly or in a clockwise direction, as noted in FIG. 3.

It will be remembered that the actuater plunger 17 is secured to the bottom of the plate 12 and is also movable with the plate 12 to actuate the contact assembly 18. Preferably, the actuator plunger 17 includes an outer cylinder housing 48 which is interiorally threaded to receive an exteriorally threaded plug 49 which can be turned relative to the fixed housing 48 to adjust the extent to which the plug 49 extends therefrom. The plug 49 has a rounded nose or lower portion adapted to engage leaf spring 50 of the contact assembly 18. The leaf spring 50 has an inverted U-shaped configuration with a longer leg 51, FIG. 4, secured by a rivet 52 to a base 53. The portion of the leaf spring 50 contacted by the actuator plunger 17 is generally horizontal and extends to a downwardly turned leg 55 which is secured to an end 56 of a swinger contact 58.

As best seen in FIG. 5, the swinger contact 58 is generally a Y-shaped member having a pair of legs 59 and 60. The end portions 61 of these legs 59 and 60 are disposed in horizontal notches formed in the vertical sides of the depending lip 55 of the leaf spring actuator 50 so that movement of the actuator 50 exerts a force on the legs 59 and 60 to pivot the contacts 62 at. the other end of the swinger member 58 about a pivot point 64 at which is the hooked contractile spring 65. The contractile spring 65 is hooked in an aperture at the pivot point 64 in the swinger contact 58 and has its opposite end 66 secured to a spring anchor 67 on the base 53.

As can best be appreciated from FIG. 4, the leaf spring 50 is biased to hold the legs 59 and 69 of the swinger contact 53 upwardly above pivot point 64. In this position, the leaf spring 50 biases a lower contact 68 on the swinger contact member 58 into tight engagement with a lower fixed contact 69 suitably secured to a terminal 70 on the base 53. The position shown in FIG. 4 is that wherein the weight of the article has been removed and the compression spring means 19 has pivoted the upper plate 12 upwardly so that the actuator plunger 17 is exerting little or no force on the leaf spring 50.

When, however, the object weight is placed on the upper plate 12 and the actuator plunger 17 moves downwardly against the force of the compression spring means 19, the leg 55 of the leaf spring 58 is flexed downwardly to move the legs 59 and 60 of swinger contact 58 downwardly to rotate the contact 62 at the other end of the swinger contact 58 upwardly or in a clockwise direction to bring this top contact 62 into engagement with an upper fixed contact 73. The upper fixed contact 73 is fixed to an arm 74 leading to a terminal 75 anchored in the base 53.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention affords an inexpensive and novel weight differentiating switch mechanism capable of readily adjustment and ability to distinguish between relatively small changes in weight or forces exerted thereon.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the weight differentiating switch mechanism is finely adjustable to a specific weight by turning the plug 42 to compress the spring 19 to adjust the compression of the spring 19 for moving the upper plate 12 upwardly to lift the actuator 17 to operate the contact assembly 18. Also, the length of the actuator is readily adjusted by turning the button 49 in the actuator 17 to overcome accumulated tolerance errors in manufacturing. The low cost switch mechanism includes a simple hinge arrangement of a single long pin 32 and ears 30 and 33 struck from sheet metal plates. The switch contact assembly 18 is easily replaced for repairs or replacement, as is the spring 19. Thus, the switch mechanism It) is easily repairable and readily adaptable to different environments requiring different types of contact stacks or operating force parameters.

Hence, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claim.

I claim:

In combination with a dial telephone and a weight differentiating switch mechanism, said telephone having a removable hand set and having a dialing mechanism, said weight differentiating switch mechanism adapted to distinguish between normal dialing pressure and removal and replacement of said hand set on said telephone, said switch mechanism comprising: a base means, supporting means pivotally mounted on said base means for supporting only a portion of the weight of said telephone, said supporting means engageable with said telephone set at the rear portion thereof rearwardly of said dialing mechanism, pivot means for pivotally mounting said supporting means on said base means, said pivot means being located beneath the dialing mechanism of said telephone set, coil spring biasing means for biasing said supporting portion upwardly and engaging said supporting means rearwardly of said dialing mechanism of said telephone set, snap switch means carried by said base means and disposed adjacent said spring biasing means, and actuating means comprising a plunger of adjustable length on said supporting means contacting and actuating said switch means upon pivotal movement of said supporting means for adjusting the length of said actuating means to operate aid switch means and means for adjusting the force of said coil spring biasing means to assure actuation of said switch means when said hand set is replaced and being unresponsive to said switch means when said telephone is being dialed, and guide means fitted int-o the ends of said coil spring means with a slight clearance therefor to retain a centered position while permitting the coils of said spring means to expand and contract.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,316,540 4/1943 Danley et a1.

Rehfeldt 20085 Lauder 20067 Ostby 200153 X Rabinow 17984 Cherry a- 20067 Craven 20085 Denner 20067 10 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner.

H. A. LEWITTER, Assistant Examiner. 

